Golf tee



GOLF TEE Filed June 3, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Jan. 9,1940. R. B. WHITMAN Filed June 3, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented s V GOLF TEE Ray Belmont Whitman, Essex Fells,

Application June 3,'1936,' Serial No.'"83,175

' I l 4 m "(CL 273-43 This invention relates to golf tees, and more member at alike plurality of positions and foldspecially to the type of golf tee which rests on. ing same to each said desired height. top of the ground and has an extended base for A further'object is'to-provide a tee with a ballsupporting the'golf ball. receiving surfacewhich makes only point'con'tact An object of the invention is to provide a golf with the bait, instead of line or surface contact, tee which can be manufactured and sold for such as'in the ordinary peg tee,'and thus aids in giva small sum that a golfer can easily afford to ing distance 'and' direction tothe ball by reducuse one tee foreach'shotor drive and'not bother ring the frictional engagement betweenball" and to pick it up again. tee; Another object -is to provide a tee so compact Another object isto provide a methodof teein size and shapethat a suflicient number for a ing a golf ball in" which the step of introduc-" fullround of eighteen holes of golf'may be as' e y h i ground s 0f sembled in a space-small enough tofit into the 'a peg' tee or'otherwise) is eliminated. 1 I vest pocket for instance, while yet being adapted Another object is to'provide a golf tee having no to be instantly removed one at a time as needed. sharp projections which might injure the user, Further objects are to provide a tee which canor tear holes in his for her clothing, said tee be made of cardboard or light easily-destroyed z being of a character where alarge 'numbercan material, which willouicklydisintegrate through becon'venien'tly carried in one protective conaction of the rain or-other elements when left l tainer. s 1 behindon the golf course, which can only be Anothe j s to Provide a inethodof form- 20 hit or blown a foot or twdaiid which, moiem/eig ing attached pap e te sa d qu ly separat-' could not possibly injure the? blades of a lawn- "ing one "orthem-at a't me f om t restiin mower if left lnthe grass to be cut. which fiat cardboard brother-suitable 'fo dable" Another object is to provide a golf teewhich stock is punched or otherwise formed to the dewill move but short distance'no matte flhow. sired'lshape'and score line's for*fol'dingralsolformed hit by the players club; nor how hard the wind vt e in the vsame pe tio r ot e blows, thus keeping the teesconcentrated on" wise; and which operations include one. of 'almost the teeing-ofi place, for easy removal by the em-. who1ly 'severingea'ch'tee fromitscompanion at ployees of the golf course, or for-ready retrieving tached tee s or froman-'interm'edi ate' attaching by the player if he is so Scotch he desires't e s thereto. a

use this cost-less tee again. V J 1 :---Another' object 'is'to provide'a method of'tee-ls Yetta further object is to provide a golf .tee i -up golf balls in which the't ine s originally'in'fiatsh et form butfwhjch n be formed of flat materiahandcarried-thusto the instantly folded, even withrcold numb fingers; to pl ih p s e nto elevating. shap a shape which will elevate the ball from the prior to use! groundwhen same is mounted on the tee. tfh'lotl'ler Object to provide a golf w A further object is to provide a golf 'tee adapted anioutwardly-sloping edge contactbetween the to [mount the ball at difierent .pre determined tee and g comparatively -'i exact distances from the-ground, at the will of n sa 'amost ball-diameter extent, 0

40 t user, I s I that a very stable'ba-se on ground. or" turf is 40v A' still further object is to provide an adver w" f f tising book, the leaves of which may both con-l {another obJeqt'ls t f fl n P tain an'advertisement and be used as a golf tee; be used equally 'efiecti'vely m m' m on when suitably folded, or the coverof which m'ay d' i 9 or other s ns wh be so used for advertising or both. i ig if J g? 7 j Y ther object is' to'provide a golf tee 3.10 0 g o prov e ee W1 L b A stillfur i port ng base almost aslarge asthe ball 1tself and score card in combinat on, in which attached for "Successful ,ruse-even rough groun-d whue mner'folded Sheets wlthm the score card each-i yeticoncealing thetee beneath the-ball tolelimid have a plurality of tees which may be individually ej mntallhazardv A j I I H i V severed for use, th enmea lc b n m Y e't another object is ,to provldeaftee having frbm a Single -0 i material-T a downwardly-outwardlyslant d sl fl ce or su A r Object is to prov de a wv h d i faces, or other equally-effective-means for came I teeing a golf ball to a. plurality of pre-determing thegteefirmlyto the ground to help it stay a mi t b i l graspegvi fl i ld e m eh m i l w i jt i e e club head up to the ball during a too low stroke. Still other objects are to provide a tee which cannot injure lawn-mower blades; which will be self-destructible in use by being made of a cheap cardboard or like material which will disappear inthe first hard rain; which is grass-colored, so there will be no distraction to the golfers shot concentration while in'use, and no litter or unsightliness when leftbehind at the tee ground; which cannot be blown or hit morethan a foot or two, so is easy tov eitherretrieve or collectdiscarded ones; which will eliminate the disadvantages of the wooden peg tee as the latter; did the sand tee, and which-in fine-will be the ed thereon, the tee being folded to make a low tee for the normal or long drive.

Fig. 2 is a similar View, showing the same tee folded to mount the ball high, used particularly fora drive up-hill or a short drive, or by certain golfers to better accommodate their. strokes.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the leaves ina book .of tees in one of its modified shapes, a quantity of which leaves are. assembled between covers or otherwise to form the complete book of golf tees, although of course they may be used singly in bulk, in which case the flap at one side would not be needed.

comprising one golf teein one of its forms and showing the tee detached=from the stub'which holds it in the book until needed.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a partially-used book of tees of the form of Fig. 4. Y

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the book shown in Fig. 5 before any of the leaves of the tees have been detached.

' Fig. '7 shows a modified form of the golf tee book or pack of Figs. 5 and 6, but where the tees are separated into a plurality of [portions-in this case, two-and held together within the for forming another slightly modified form of tee, but in this case along its scored diagonals to form a low or standard height tee.

Fig. 11 shows an advertising folder orxother printed object used as a cover or leaf and attachedto a plurality of the golf tees of this invention, said tees being themselves attached in multiple to each other along their edges in a plurality of horizontal and vertical rows.

Fig. 12 shows a perspective view of an ordinary two-fold score card, but in conjunction with a plurality of these golf tees, all made from the same sheet of like material, and the several sheets of tees being attached to 'be folded in accordion-style within the folds of the score card. Fig. 13 shows a modified-form of the golf tee in whichthe central opening'is' cut substantially in a as an aid in picking up one tee at a time.

the formof a'square placed diagonally to the generally-square peripheral edge of the tee.

Fig. 14 is a View similar to Fig. 13 of one of the forms of individual tees comprising this invention, but in which the central opening which forms the base or rest for the ball is substantially octagonal in outline.

-Fig. 15 shows" a plurality of individual detached golf tees of this invention positioned in a permanent resilient holder or coverarranged so that their edges when inserted in said cover extend therefrom in-a slightly staggered position In this adaptation of the invention the holder has its front and back portions resiliently movable with respect to each other to clamp any number of tees between them, from 1 up to 18 or 20 for instance, to hold said tees in place until Wanted and to provide a convenient and permanent carrying case for protecting and keeping them its opening, and assembling them with their ata tached tab portions so formed in alignment, and then pressing or bending the plurality of tags outwardly, for instance, so that the lowermost tab projects more or less upwardly through the v center opening of the uppermost tee of the group, Fig. 4 is a similar view of one sheet of the book I as clearly shown.

'Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

This tee is formed from suitable foldable material, preferably thin inexpensive cardboard. The tee is completely manufactured from fiat stock and remains flat until folded into ,tee form by the golfer, usually just prior to his drive. The complete manufacture of the tee consists merely in blanking out its shape, consisting usually of a generally-square outside perimeter with somewhat concave sides and' beveled corners, and a' centrally-disposed opening or hole about half as large as the tee itself and preferably of circular or octagonal outline, and scoring lines of fold on one or both surfaces of the tee as an aid to the golfer in later forming the fiat tee blank into finished tee form for holding a golf ball in an elevated positionabove the ground.

In one of the preferred forms of the tee, shown for instance in Fig. 4, it is shown as made of a flat cardboard-like piece of material 20, slightly smaller than the ball; generally square in contour but having its four sides somewhat concaved or angled-in, in shape as shown at 2|. These generally concave-shaped sides extend to the corners of the tee, asshown, and said corners moreover are cut offat right angles to the diagonals 26 as shown at 22, to make a generallyblunt point to the tee at each of the four corners when same is folded into tee form. A centrallydisposed opening 23, preferably circular or octagonal, but which may be square as shown, positioned in generally-parallel relation to the sides of the tee, is cut'from theblank and is substan-,

tially from a third to a half as long on its sides as are the sides of the tee blank itself.

Where the tee is to form one leaf of a pluralleaf book of tees, such as that shown in Fig. 5, each tee blank also comprises a detachable tab opposite corners of the tee and its opening, and other scored lines 21 are formed connectingthe middle of the sides of the teewith those of the opening. These. scored lines may all be formed from one side or both sides or if desired the diagonals may'all be scored intofthezmaterial from one side and all the side scoringsfrom the other side. i

In the simpler but less accurate form of tee shown in Fig. 3, the outer edges of the tee are not concaved, but have straight sides as shown, I

being detachable, for instance, from: adjoining sides not shown (as Where a plurality of tees are formed in one sheet) by means of lines of perforation 28, one of these lines of perforation also serving to permit the tee to be severed from its meetingin a central position on the upper surtab 29. In this form of the invention the centrally-disposed opening is not square but is in the form of two squares imposed upon each other, one of the squares having its sides parallelto the sides of the tee and the other square having its sides at 45 degrees thereto, forming an eight pointed star-shaped opening so that a similar pointed portion of the opening extends both from the diagonal scores and the side scores. This View shows the four diagonal scores marked L (meaning Low) and the four side scores H (meaning High) as an aid to the golfer folding the tee for use. Thus, he would pinch or fold along the diagonals marked L to convex them when forming a low or standard tee, and would likewise pinch folds along the scored lines marked H to convex them when forming a high tee. During these operations the adjacent series of scores are folded in the opposite direction'that is, the convexing along the scored diagonals at the same time concaves along the side'scores, and vise versa.

The tee when folded to a low or standard position is shown in perspective in Fig. l with the representation of a golf ball 43 mounted thereon. And the perspective View of the tee shown in Fig.

2n; the same tee as in Fig 1, but where the folds are convex (looking down from the top) along the side scores 21 and concaved along the diagonal scores 26. Note that in'this manner the ball may be elevated up to one-quarter inch more than with the low tee. v

It will be seen that the tee formed in this manner provides a stable and sure base or support for the golf ball, whether folded for a low tee or a high tee, one in which the lower supporting portions of the tee which engage the ground are a series of spaced peripheral projections to provide a stable base even on comparatively rough ground; and also a plurality of upwardly-ex-v tending ball-holding portions is provided around the edges of the opening in such manner that the ball is effectively but very lightly mounted in point contact along the edge of the tee, re

gardless of whether it is folded for a low tee or stapled together by means of a wire staple 301 between a front and back cover 31, 32,'which may be a single piece of folded material such as cardboard andput together either in book form or with a front-.-edge captive fiap as is done in ordinary"papersof 'matches. When the tees are assembled thus in book form they may be readily removed one, at a time fromeither the front or the back of the book. Andif attached in slightly staggered relation, one of them may be even more readily grasped, as by the staggered or grasping. outer edge.

A modification of this tee, so far as its holding means is concerned, is shown in Figs. 7 and 8, in which a connecting fiap 33, Fig. 8, serves to hold the two connected tees 2!], 20 together along adjacent edges. In this form of tee, as shown in Fig. 8,- the :sduare'rcentrally disposed opening 23 has been cut awayalong a perforated line 24 to provide, a roughened edge to grip the surface of the ball. This-feature, however, is not essential. The book oftees formed two to a sheet as in Fig. 8, is shown in perspective in Fig. '7, wherein the staples 34 serve to show how the plurality of double-tee sheets are .held. together to a cover member 35"having its opposite ends folded and faceof the book where one end may be tucked beneath. another or otherwise suitably held together for conveniencel'in carrying.

When forming the tee from the flat prepared blank into elevating position. to support the ball prior to driving, the simplest way to do it is to position, the thumbs 36, 36 of the two hands, Fig. ,10, (in'case a low or standard height tee is desired) over the tee blank 2il and just below a pair ofopposite diagonals 26,438 (as viewed in the drawings) and the two index or first fingers 31, 31 along side of the two'thumbs and just above them and alsoon the upper surface of the tee as shown inFig. 10. The two second or longest fingers are positioned below the tee and along the line of these two. diagonals between the two fingers above.v Note that the pair of thumbs and the pair of first fingers are so positioned respeotively'over the two lower sidesco-res and the 3 two upper side scores as to cover them; and now by merely pressing the thumb and first finger of each hand together and also down onthe second fingerf'of said handssimultaneously, and at the same tirne'bririging the ends of the fingers of the two hands toward, each other laterally, the tee is formed by convexly folding along the four diagonal soores ZG andfconcavelyfolding along the four side scores 21. v p

In order toform a high. tee the tee blank 29 is merely grasped in a diiferent position so that the thumbs 36, 36 and the first fingers 3?, 3i and the second-fingers 38, 38 are all inja line parallel, not to an opposite pair of diagonals as in Fig. 10, but instead, to opposite side scores as clearly shown in Fig. 9. In this case the side scores are all four folded convexly .(looking down from above as in Fig. 9) and thefourdiagonals are folded concavely which, is just the reverse of the previous action although the. operation of folding is identical, except, as stated, theigolfer grasps the tee in the first instance along twoopposite corners and in the presentinstance midway of two opposite sides.- The ends-of the fingers mostly form theconfcave folds and-their end longitudinal surfaces the convex folds. i I I Modifications in the shape of the centrallydisposed opening over those previously'shown are illustrated in Figs.-9 and "l0, and alsoin Fig. 9 the four corners of the tee blank are notched as shown in lieu of being beveledas in Fig. 4

for instance. 1

For use with an. advertising folder a plurality of these tees readily detachable along perforated lines, as shown, or otherwise, may be assembled in plural rows both vertical and horizontal along one edge of an advertising card 39, Fig. 11, for instance.

A particularly useful form of these tees may be in connection with an ordinary folded score card it, Fig. 12, to which there is detachably secured,

for instance along the back edge thereof, three leaves of six or more tees each, as clearly shown in Fig. 12. These sheets are attached consecutively and in an accordion-pleated fashion and folded together with the score card, so that one tee at a time can be detached until all 18 have been used and the round of golf completed.

The square centrally-disposed opening shown in tee blank 29 in Fig. 4 may be positioned diagonally of the tee sides, as shown in Fig. 13, or this opening may be circular in. outline as shown in 16. In the former case the corners of the opening are in line with the side scores 2i.

Fig. 15 shows a plurality of the tee blanks 2!! held in a resilient clamping cover 42 having a base portion extending over the area of the tee and a top or clamp portion extending, as shown, perhaps partially over the top of the tees and so arranged that the connecting side 42-a is on a slant and jnotat right angles to the surface of the bottom of the cover, so that the outer grasping edges of the tees will be staggered for aid in removing one tee at a time from the clamping cover. This clamping cover may, of course, have advertising on its surface as, indeed, can also the surfaces of the individual tees in the various modifications suggested and their attached elements, such as book covers and score cards. Or it may be a jewelry item, of gold, initialed, etc.

Experience has shown that one of the most successful shapes for this article is that shown in 16, or modified by substituting an octagonal hole for the circular hole. The con'caved sides of the perimeter of the article are made with two straight lines, as shown, in flat notch form instead of on a curve such as a circular arc. Also the depth of this notch at the center of the side must be just right, for if too small the base of the tee will rock on the side-center edge surfaces, which engage the ground first and hold the corner portions slightly out of contact therewith; if these side notches are too deep the corner portions will touch the ground first and leave the side center portions slightly elevated, in which case the weight of the ball mounted on such a will tend to collapse it. Of course, the ground is usually somewhat rough so slight variations in the shape are not always serious; neverthelessit s best to have these notches so shaped as to their center depth that when the tee is pinched into folded position and then released, and springs back part way to its permanent position, the side edges of the tee should preferably, or at least in some cases, make contact with the ground all along them.

The corners are beveled as shown in this figure largely to present a strong uncollapsible corner support for the tee when foldedfor a high tee, and also to conceal wholly or partly said projecting corners beneath the ball when used as a low tee, while yet getting the advantage of having the edge support of the base of the tee on the ground as far out from the center as possible and still .be out of sight beneath the ing space.

ball. This. design or shape of tee has also been very carefully developed with the consideration in mind of utilizingthe least dimensioned blank possible, so as to save materials As a means of holding aquantity of .the tees together in the simplestv possible way, the portion of the blank which is normally removed toprovide the center opening may be only partially severed from the blank, being held thereto at one point perhaps a sixteenth to an eighth of an inch in width,.as at 44, Fig. 17. The blanks can then all be assembled with each such connecting portion in alignmentand then the plurality. of tabs 45 pushed outwardly from one side so that all of them project beyond the other side of the top one. This automatically prevents the tees from becomingdisengaged from each other until needed, at which time the golfer need only conveniently grasp the topmost tabwhich is in staggered formation with respect to the others, and hence is easily grasped, and lift the tee away from the pack and sever the center hold tab by a slight sideways yank.

These tabs can, of course, be used as advertis- It is :not even necessary to remove them from their tees when forming and using the latter, as they can be so arranged as not to be in the way, and in fact they may even serve to help support the ball.

The score lines along which the tee is folded may be applied thereto all on one surface, or all on both surfaces, or the four diagonals on one surface and the four side radii scores on the other surface. In the latter case the score lines may also be used to indicate, as by adjoining indicia or reference to the directions, where to grasp the tee to form either a low tee or a high tee.

The tees may be blanked and scored in one operation, and of course the scores may be made either all on one or both sides or partly on one side and partly on the other, still in the one oper ation; Also the forming and scoring die may be of multiple character, such that a considerable quantity of individual tees may be formed in one operation of the press. Likewise these several essential operations in the making of the tee may be in conjunction with printing operations, in case the tees contain an advertisement or other indicia, or the book covers or score cards, etc., to which the tees are removably attached may likewise be printed in the same manufacturing operation, or at least in conjunction therewith, so as to reduce labor expenses to the minimum.

It will, of course, also be seen that the tees may be assembled in book form, one to a page, or more than one, by being formed in a continuous strip in which opposite sides are almost wholly severed while yet being slightly held to adjacent tees in the same strip, and then folded into a pack in accordion-pleated fashion beneath the covers of the book. 01' where the center portion is only partially severed, as in Fig. 17, the tabs so formed may then serve to prevent the tees so folded like an accordion from coming apart until needed one at a time.

There are many other combined uses for this golf tee besides those suggested. For instance, as an inexpensive advertisement, a few of the tees may be formed on a large-sized business card, and the cards distributed to golfers by the advertiser. Also the tees may similarly be combined with Christmas cards or other greeting cards, to make inexpensive holiday and birthday gifts; also as favors or prizes to commemorate tournaments, parties, or games.

Where the dimensions of the tee are made such that, for instance, the two rearward corners thereof are visible to the golfer because they extend beyond the curve of the ball as viewed by him or her, this feature may be used 'as' anaid in directing the drive. Under present conditions of play, with a spherical ball, the direction in which the golfer desires to drive it must be determined by him by the position of his feet or stance, as

he has no other relative indicationof' the'desired line or direction of flight desired. With this tee, however, where for instance it can be set up so that its two rear corners are in a line at right angles to the desired flight direction, this can be determined in advance when the ball is being teed on this invention, and thereafter during the drive the golfer can gauge or interpolate the flight line as being at right angles to the imaginary line ex tending across the tee corners. Thus, the tee in this form can be used as a great scientific aid in closure is for the purpose of illustration only, and

' that the invention not limited thereto To those skilled in theart, many modifications of the invention will be readily apparent, and it, will also be obvious to such skilled persons that parts of the device and method may be used without other parts thereof, many such combinations readily suggesting themselves. Therefore, it

, distant from its center.

3. A high-and-low golf tee, comprising a. piece should be, and is to be distinctly understood that for a definition of the limitations of the invention, reference must be had to the appended claims. v

Having now described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which Letters Patent of the Unitedstates is desired is: 1, A golftee of foldable'material cut from a single flat piece'to an approximately square outlineand scored along its diagonals and also along intermediate radial linesand adapted to thereafter be folded along said scores to elevate its center portion. p

2. A golf tee having a center opening, a surrounding edgeapproximately square in shape, diagonal scores, and radial scores equi-spaced therefrom, said scores all extending substantially to said opening, and said opening being such that the points of intersection between its edge or edges and the diagonal or radial scores areequiof approximately square foldable relatively-rigid material, diagonal, and intermediate radial scores therein, and a centrally-disposed cut-away portion, all so arranged that a low tee is formed by convexing the diagonals and concaving the intermediate radial scores, and a high tee when the operation is reversed. i

4. A golf tee made of flat foldable material and having four flat-notchedor concave sides surrounding a center opening, there being one folding scoreconnecting each corner and also each side with said center opening.

RAY BELMONT WHITMAN 

